A visionary new master class in cooking that distills decades of professional experience into just four simple elements, from the woman declared "America's next great cooking teacher" by Alice Waters.

In the tradition of The Joy of Cooking and How to Cook Everything comes Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat, an ambitious new approach to cooking by a major new culinary voice. Chef and writer Samin Nosrat has taught everyone from professional chefs to middle school kids to author Michael Pollan to cook using her revolutionary, yet simple, philosophy. Master the use of just four elements--Salt, which enhances flavor; Fat, which delivers flavor and generates texture; Acid, which balances flavor; and Heat, which ultimately determines the texture of food--and anything you cook will be delicious. By explaining the hows and whys of good cooking, Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat will teach and inspire a new generation of cooks how to confidently make better decisions in the kitchen and cook delicious meals with any ingredients, anywhere, at any time.

Echoing Samin's own journey from culinary novice to award-winning chef, Salt, Fat Acid, Heat immediately bridges the gap between home and professional kitchens. With charming narrative, illustrated walkthroughs, and a lighthearted approach to kitchen science, Samin demystifies the four elements of good cooking for everyone. Refer to the canon of 100 essential recipes--and dozens of variations--to put the lessons into practice and make bright, balanced vinaigrettes, perfectly caramelized roast vegetables, tender braised meats, and light, flaky pastry doughs.

Featuring 150 illustrations and infographics that reveal an atlas to the world of flavor by renowned illustrator Wendy MacNaughton, Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat will be your compass in the kitchen. Destined to be a classic, it just might be the last cookbook you'll ever need.

With a foreword by Michael Pollan.

Reviews

Samin Nosrat has managed to summarize the huge and complex subject of how we should be cooking in just four words: 'salt, fat, acid, heat.' Everyone will be hugely impressed -- YOTAM OTTOLENGHI This beautiful, approachable book captures how it should feel to cook: full of exploration, spontaneity and joy -- ALICE WATERS An exhaustively researched treatise on the four pillars of successful cooking. If you can train yourself to recognize the proper balance between salt, fat and acid, then apply the right kind of heat, you'll churn out simple, sophisticated fare in the spirit of Berkeley's Chez Panisse, where Nosrat started out * * New York Times * *

Author description

Samin Nosrat is a writer, chef and teacher. She learned to cook with Alice Waters at Chez Panisse after studying journalism at UC Berkeley. Inspired by her many teachers, Samin runs a series of hands-on cooking classes in the Bay Area. She is widely credited as the person who taught Michael Pollan how to cook and features in his book and TV series Cooked. Samin lives in Berkeley, California. Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat is her first book. www.saminnosrat.com Wendy Macnaughton is an illustrator and graphic journalist. She illustrated the New York Times bestseller The Essential Scratch and Sniff Guide to Becoming a Wine Expert and Lost Cat: A True Story of Love, Desperation and GPS Technology. She lives in San Francisco. www.wendymacnaughton.com